Government to discuss plans to improve assessment of needs process for people with disabilities

Disability rights campaigner Cara Darmody at Leinster House during 50-hour sleepout in May to highlight disability assessment delays. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins 

Ministers will discuss plans to improve the assessment of needs process at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.

It comes as autism campaigner Cara Darmody starts another 50-hour campout outside Leinster House.

An assessment of need (AON) is an assessment conducted by the HSE for people with a disability to identify health and education needs. By law, the assessment must be carried out within six months.

The plan, brought by disabilities minister Norma Foley and minister of state Emer Higgins, will contain guidelines for assessment officers to make clear the AON process should be focused on establishing the health and education needs for a child rather than “lengthy and complex reports on a diagnosis of disability”.

There will also be additional supports and training for officers. These changes will amend the 2005 Disability Act, but will not alter the statutory six‑month timeline.

Sources suggested the reforms would lead to a faster and more efficient way of conducting AON reports.

Adult safeguarding

Elsewhere, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeil will seek Government approval to publish a new national policy framework for adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector, along with the drafting of an adult safeguarding bill.

This will apply to all public, private, voluntary health, and social care settings. It will introduce powers of entry for safeguarding and protection teams, powers to obtain court protection orders, and mandatory reporting of safeguarding concerns in specified circumstances.

Hiqa’s remit will be extended to include independent oversight and monitoring of adult safeguarding services for the health and social care sector delivered by the HSE.

Education minister Hildegarde Naughton will update Cabinet on online safety measures in schools.

This will include an update on phone storage solutions. The provision of €9m for “phone pouches” in Budget 2025 caused public and political fury.

Ms Naughton will say that, as of June, schools are required to have policies regarding a ban on mobile phones in primary school and restrictions at second level.

So far, 472 out of 672 eligible schools have received payments worth €6.4m.

Media minister Patrick O’Donovan, meanwhile, will update Cabinet on measures to be taken to protect children online, including a plan to introduce an age-verification tool, which will be piloted through a digital wallet early next year.